Searching for Patrick Dempsey

Remember Outbreak? Patrick Dempsey and his monkey? Brad Pitt is looking for him.

This was my first thought seeing the new trailer for World War Z. Brad is Dustin Hoffman. Is he looking for Patient Zero? Does he have a multipurpose assistant like Cuba Gooding Jr? How was he a stunt helicopter pilot AND a scientist AND a sharpshooter AND a bodyguard ALL AT THE SAME TIME!?! Anyway, as you can see below, “outbreak” is what they’re going with here as promotional strategy for Brad’s mega expensive summer movie, opening in June. You’ll note the word “zombie” isn’t used, not once. And we don’t get a close-up zombie shot either. The zombies are presented in mass form from afar, like multiplying molecules, a virus spreading around the world, as Brad races to find a cure. And somehow ends up on an airplane that gets its tail blown out.

You think they were all like F----------CK when they saw the trailer for Iron Man 3 with a similar scene?

I’ve not talked to Sarah, our resident zombie expert, yet about this new preview as I’m writing today’s column overnight because I’ll be shooting all day. She hasn’t been super optimistic about World War Z though due to its rumoured production problems and script changes and was totally livid that the Super Bowl trailer seemed to be entirely recycled from previously released footage. The marketing strategy seems to have shifted since then. And there’s a new poster to go along with it. Better?